Matthew Lane

KINGSPORT — Alderman John Clark believes now is the time for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to craft a new vision for the city, with goals for the next five to 10 years and one that will take the Model City to the next level.

Visioning processes are not uncommon in the Model City and are typically held during times of uncertainty to give some sort of direction to city and community leaders, a collection of goals and an overarching theme to push toward over a multi-year period. Normally, the visioning process involves a laundry list of strategies and capital projects.

The impetus for this latest visioning proposal started back in July when Alderman Tom Parham raised a number concerns about the BMA, how he thinks the board is divided, has been micromanaging the city manager and not following the city charter when it comes to its role.

Dovetailing with Parham’s comments came a proposal from Clark who suggested at the time that the BMA hold a meeting to discuss and reaffirm its role and responsibilities and for a new visioning process to be undertaken.

At a BMA work session last week, Clark again made a strong pitch for the visioning session, saying it should be held by November.